Trawniki
This page gives the results to date of my research into this village.
The Churches and Cemeteries
There is only one church in Trawniki that is in use and that is the
Roman Catholic church built in the 1960's. Prior to this there was only
a small chapel - originally the family chapel of the local landowners -
and the population had to use the church in nearby Biskupice. However,
with the Socialist government of the latter half of the 20th century, Trawniki
saw a growth in population and this led to the establishment of a new church
and also a cemetery. Burials in the new cemetery began in 1972. Over the
same period, the older chapel fell into decay and is now no more than a
ruin.
The chapel,
now in ruins
The new
church in Trawniki, built in the 1960's. During the Stalinist there were
few, if any, churches built in Poland (although many were repaired or rebuilt
after the war) and the 1960's saw the start of new church building here
and there. It wasn't until the 1980's, however, that it really began in
earnest. I have a web page devoted to the procession
of Boze Cialo (Corpus Christi) from June 2001.
The interior
of the church.
A shrine
at a road junction in Trawniki Kol. This was made by one of the locals,
the ribbons being tied to a metal cross, out of sight of the picture.
Near the
bridge over the river is the war cemetery. The marked graves are mainly
resistance fighters, with the pair on the left being 2 soldiers from the
Polish army who died on 25th September 1939 defending the old bridge from
the Germans. There are many Austrians buried here, in unmarked graves,
from the first world war.
In the
war cemetery is this obelisk commemorating the Austrians buried here. The
plate on it is in German.
The village
cemetery, opened in 1972. Prior to this, as the village had no proper church,
burials were usually in Biskupice.
Grave pictures.
The well
in the cemetery.
Farming in Trawniki
The improvement in farming over the latter half of the 20th century
is difficult to measure. Sure, about half of the farmers now own tractors,
but farm sizes are still, on average, about 2 hectares and most of the
work in the fields is still done by hand. The greatest improvement has
been the re-building of the farmhouses, replacing the wooden buildings
with ones made of blocks and brick. Farming implements are generally the
same as the were in 1944, barns and other buildings have sometimes been
replaced. Probably the most noticable difference is the change in roofing
material from straw thatch to galvanised steel sheeting.
The Grain
Silo.
Amongst
the trees a family works weeding their strip field
Fields
on the eastern side of the village.
A family
working on their field, including their horse, cart and Maluch (Fiat 126).
The farmer
and his horse and plough from the picture above.
Another
small farmer and horse drawn plough.
The same
horse as in the above picture, but this time with the cart.
A small
farmyard, the original wooden buildings given a layer of concrete.
Another
small farms, with a neat vegetable garden.
A barn,
once thatched and now with asbestos roofing.
Business in Trawniki
The most important employer during the 20the century was the knitwear
factory. In about 1991 it was sold off to 2 companies, one Belgian and
the other French. The Belgian company now makes cleaning products for the
home and car, whilst the other makes clothes to bulk order such as track
suits for the army. Some of the lesser buildings are now used for small
service industries. During WW2, part of the factory land was used as a
concentration camp.
The Agricultural
Supplies shop in Trawniki in the 1930's, owned from the 1920's to 1944
by Jozef Kulczynski (standing in the doorway). This building still exisits,
but now it is just someone's home and has recently been rebuilt. In 1939
Jozef joined the army for the second time in his life, was captured by
the Russians and then traded to the Germans, the Germans meanwhile commandeered
his oil supplies from his business. He was sent to a prisoner of war camp
in Germany, but a German doctor managed to arrange his release. The local
resistance fighters broke into his house and stole many things including
his suits and most of his tea service, later he was able to recognise many
people in church wearing his suits. With the coming of communism he lost
his business, but was retained as manager until ill health forced his retirement
in 1960.
Jozef is
on the left.
The upper
signs says he sells Nobel petrol, and the lower one says fertilizer.
The same
building as above, but showing the back after it was modernised in about
2000.
Jozef,
his wife, and some employees, with the oil storage tanks in the background
(now long gone).
Although
long out of use, the siding for the Agricultural Supplies business is still
connected to the main line.
The unloading
platform for the Agricultural Supplies business, overgrown and the raiway
tracks completely overgrown.
One of
the 2 blacksmiths in the village, both defunct. The smithy is the small
building, whilst the house behind it is now empty as all the families who
lived there had bad luck, and now it is considered to be haunted.
Both house
and workshop for the Malinowski family, locksmiths and ironmongers. No
longer in business.
The railway
was very important in the development of the village as it was a main junction
on the Warsaw-Lwow line. In the past the sidings were always full of wagons,
but since the second worlds war and the change of Poland's border, the
line has significantly decreased in importance and now it has many empty
sidings and the line is quite except for the Lublin-Chelm train. This building
is at the main road crossing.
This water
tower is beside the station and was once used for refilling steam trains
as well as the nearby knitwear factory. The upper part is not original
as that was burnt down.
This is
the pump house by the river Wieprz. Now converted into a house, it once
housed the machinery to pump water to the water tower. The architecture
is classic 19th century industrial.
Trawniki Manor
The manor house existed until about the 1960's. After the war it was
divided into flats for workers.
This was
once the lawn in front of the house, the location of the house marked by
the bushes in the background.
The old
gatehouse. Once there were gates to the left, but even the gateposts have
been pulled down now.
This is
the drive from the main road to the gatehouse, the avenue being created
for the house.
The Centre and Services in the
Village
A house
and barn in the centre of the village. In empty ground in front of the
buildings there was once a tavern.
A block
of flats, probably pre-war, in the centre of the village.
Poczta Polska
- The post office.
This is
now used as flats for teachers, but it was the village school in the post-war
years.
This is
the lower school, to the right is the upper school. Upper schools in Poland
are often orientated towards particular skills, this one gave a basic education
plus work skills for the nearby knitwear factory.
An early
20th century house, used as flats until the end of the second world war.
Now it is the police station.
In a field
near the edge of the centre of the vilage is this land set aside for garages.
Houses in the Village
One of
the few really traditional style cottages left in Trawniki, note how the
wall timbers overlap at the corners in 'swallowtails'.
This is
a different construction to the one above as this is timber framed, with
the wall planks being nailed to the framework of the house.
Another
timber framed house, this one is an unusual shape for this part of Poland
and it is possible that this is a modified standard type with the central
upper storey being raised.
Stone and
brick houses with their productive gardens.
A small
stone cottage. Originally it was thatched, with the thatch coming almost
down to ground level.
Limestone
is a typical local building material. Most village buildings in Lubelskie
are wood, but in some places there are outcrops of limestone. The brick
edginf is typical for Trawniki.
Unusual
in Trawniki is this completely wooden building. Out of place here, but
it would be unnoticable 20 miles to the north in the Leczna area. There
used to be many simple wooden cottages, but most of these have now gone.
A 2 storey
house, the lower in stone and the upper in wood.
Thatch
replaced by painted galvanised steel roofing.
This house
was comandeered by the German officer in charge of the local concentration
camp, as it was the nicest house in the village. Prior to this it had been
divided into 2 flats, the occupants of which had to move out when the Germans
came. It is still owned by the smae family who owned it before the war,
and it is still rented out as 2 flats. There are a couple more houses very
like this one, copies of this one.
This is
the above house, but from the back and sometime in the 1930's
another
house comandeered by a German officer. This one suffered a lot during a
battle in 1944, when it was hit by several shells and a bomb, loosing all
its roof and some of its walls. Currently it has an asphalt roof.
Limestone
again, but without the typical brick corners and window surrounds.
A wooden
house, plastered on the left and boarded on the right, with a newer porch
added on the front. Under the right hand end of the building is a brick
built cellar.
The porch
of the building has a curved roof, one of many in Trawniki. It looks suspiciously
like part of a roof of a railway carriage and this is the only place I
have seen it.
Partly
demolished, a brick cottage in the traditional style.
Probably
1960's
A porch
showing the classic 'Trawniki' curved roof style.
Again probably
1960's, but now being 'improved'.
The 1970's
saw changes in Polish architecture, daring for the times and impossible
20 years earlier.
Probably
1970's, but with an unusual roof reminiscent of the 1960's.
Probably
1980's, although it is often difficult to give a precise date for post-war
housing as they took many years to build. Buying building materials was
theoretically illegal, but money in the right pocket...
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Website written & maintained by: Trevor & Ania Butcher